Sokka was nestled in a corner of the couch, holding the Companion open in front of him as he read quietly, when suddenly he heard voices from the stairs that led to the upstairs lounge of the Jasmine Dragon. "Is he up there?"
"Yes, he is! I told you he'd be here!" Katara appeared behind him, smiling triumphantly. Sokka looked up from the book at his friends. "Oh, hey guys."
Toph raised an eyebrow. "You're spending more time with that book lately. What is it you're reading now?"
"Just the latest chapter of The Origins of Pro-Bending," Sokka explained. "I've finished half of it already."
"After you were up here so long? That story sure loves lengthy chapters." Toph plopped herself down next to Sokka. "Well, no need to fill us in on what's happened - just read the rest of it to us."
"You guys sure?" Sokka watched as the rest of Team Avatar all sat on the couches as well. "Well, alright, if you insist."
Toph and Zuko didn't watch with much interest as Aang and Katara sparred with waterbending. They were currently taking turns to duel Aang, to make sure he could handle them separately and to see how his skills had improved. He had great potential, with his current abilities he was closer and closer to attaining the status of master of all four elements. He was still far from being as good as his three friends, but with each day that passed, he seemed in even better control of himself.
"I don't get this at all" muttered Toph, sitting down on the ground while waiting for the waterbending battle to end
"What are you talking about?" asked Zuko, leaning against a tree
"How much planning do Sokka and Azula need to do? What sort of a test do they have in mind?" asked Toph "He only needs to beat three masters, right? A simple fight against each of us should be enough"
"It's too easy" said Zuko "We're talking about Azula here. She wouldn't let Aang get away with just a fight against you, me and Katara…"
"Then what on earth does she have in mind?" asked Toph
"How should I know?" said Zuko, shrugging
"Well, the Zuko in the story's got that right," Sokka said as he nodded.
"Maybe they should ask the you in the story," Toph suggested. "You're Azula's second-in-command in there, and besides, you're supposed to be in love with her, right?"
Sokka shot her a look. "Hey, I've been reading this thing without any freakouts so far, and I'm hoping to keep that record. You're not helping."
"Whatever, Snoozles."
Toph sighed and shook her head, disappointed
"I should be back in my metalbending school by now, you know? I have new recruits, and I left the Lily Livers in charge" grunted Toph, while stretching out her toes "It's not like I don't trust their skills, but they're not the best at teaching…"
"That would be an understatement," the real Toph grinned.
"You could go back, I think" said Zuko "Why would you need to stay? For all we know, Sokka's and Azula's plans might drag on for…"
"HEY, GUYS!" yelled someone from afar
Aang and Katara stopped their bending for a moment and stared at Sokka, who was sprinting at full speed towards them with a broad smile on his face.
"What's the matter, Sokka?" asked Aang, surprised "What are you doing here?"
"Oh…" said Sokka, panting "I can't… be… around you guys… while you're bending… now? T-that's a new one…"
"Well, at least the author remembered your pettiness," Katara smirked.
Sokka huffed. "Very funny."
"That's not what he meant, Sokka" said Katara, with her hands on her hips "Weren't you plotting Aang's test with Azula?"
"I was…" he said "And it's coming along great! But… but we have a little problem to deal with… and I meant to talk to Zuko about it"
Zuko frowned and stared at Sokka with intrigued and wary eyes
"What do you need from me?" he said
"You mean, what does Azula need from you?" Toph quipped.
"Knowing her, it can't be anything good," Zuko muttered.
"Well, she does seem to have turned good in this story," Aang pointed out. "It can't be too bad, can it?"
"I've lived with her long enough to know that there are a thousand things she can do to me that won't be pleasant, whether she's turned good or not," Zuko replied. "For one, there was the time where I ended up with a cold when I was ten just because she -"
"Okay, okay, we'll take your word for it," Sokka interrupted. "Sheesh, just because you grew up with her doesn't mean you have to reminiscence about every single thing she did to you or anything."
"I dunno Sokka; you might have your own memories with her very soon in the story," Toph grinned, ignoring the glare the Water Tribe teen was giving her.
"C-can you guys let me catch my breath first…?" asked Sokka, still panting. He dropped right next to Toph, who patted him hard on the back
"Why did you run all the way here? You should have walked like anyone else would have" she said
"I didn't realize… how far away you guys were…" muttered Sokka "Why did you pick such a far off location just for practice…?"
"We chose this place because it has nice earth, and a good river" said Aang "It's the nearest place to the Palace where the three of us can practice properly"
"Whatever you say, Aang…" said Sokka, still breathing agitatedly
"Well, it's not like we can practice bending in the royal garden, right?" Toph asked.
"The turtle-ducks would be upset," Zuko said, a small smile appearing on his face as he remembered the little birds. He had a rather soft spot for them.
"We can always use the Throne Room," Aang suggested jokingly.
Sokka's eyes widened. "Oh no, not the Throne Room. Definitely not the Throne Room."
Katara raised an eyebrow. "Does this have anything to do with what you said some time ago about me and Aang and that place?"
"I'll just say yes and leave it at that."
"So… still can't tell us why you came?" asked Toph
"I guess I could…" replied Sokka, but before he actually got down to explaining anything, Katara intervened
"Azula sent you here, didn't she?" she muttered
"So what if she did?" asked Sokka, raising an eyebrow
"Well, it seems you're being used as an errand-boy or something" mocked Toph, while flashing a cruel grin
"Of course I'm not being used as anything!" said Sokka, staring at Toph in disbelief
"You seem so sure of that, huh…" muttered Katara bitterly, but Sokka heard her clearly
"Hey! I know none of you like Azula, but that's not really the reason I'm here… well, actually it is! That's why she asked me to come rather than asking you all herself, because you guys still treat her as if she was the same girl she was before!"
"And isn't she?" asked Katara, staring at Sokka with a stern look on her face "Sokka, I know you're head over heels for her, but you can't lose sight of the truth so easily"
"Well, maybe you're the one who can't see the truth properly, Katara" replied Sokka stubbornly
"Wow, Sugar Queen is particularly touchy here, and that's saying something," Toph observed.
"I just find it hard to trust people easily," Katara explained. "Especially people like Azula."
"Well, it did take her some time to accept Zuko," Sokka recalled.
"And that wasn't exactly a very pleasant experience," Zuko added as he remembered as well.
"Still, it's all past already," Aang pointed out. "But I guess it would be natural to be wary of Azula at first."
"Considering you're the one she struck with her lightning, we'll take your word for it," Toph answered.
"Would you cut it out already?" said Toph, apparently bored over the siblings confrontation "Why are you here, Sokka?"
"Right…" he said, while taking one of the scrolls he'd brought with him "We need a good location for the test, because it's not going to be as conventional as you guys might think…"
"Why won't it be?" asked Aang, confused "What are you guys planning to do?"
"That we'll save for another time" said Sokka, smiling with slight discomfort "I'd rather explain the whole thing when it's all planned out properly, and when we're certain we can pull it off…"
"But why do you need to plan anything?" asked Aang "Aren't you guys getting carried away with this? It's only a test, right?"
"Well… yes and no" said Sokka, still flashing them with a guilty smile "She has some funny ideas… but don't worry, there's nothing dangerous about this! Actually… that's fishy, there really isn't anything dangerous…" he muttered, deep in thought for a second
Zuko snorted. "If there isn't anything dangerous with anything Azula plans, then I'm a fire-flake hawker."
"Imagine what that would be like," Toph grinned before taking on a sales pitch. "Fresh fire-flakes! Sold directly to you by the Fire Lord himself! Get your own pack today!"
"It was only a figure of speech," Zuko muttered while the others broke into laughter.
"That's hard to believe" said Zuko "So? What do you need from me?"
"I just needed to know if there's a good place in the Fire Nation where we can set up the stage we need for the test…"
"Stage?" repeated Aang "Why would we need a stage…?"
"I told you I won't answer anything just yet!" said Sokka "But here, we have some blueprints of it… It's nothing final yet, but if possible, we'd like a place where we could build this up"
Sokka spread out one of the scrolls he had brought with him, and lay it open so that the rest of the group could see it… and stare at it in disbelief
"I think now would be a good time to run," Sokka commented.
"Oh, you're not running: you planned this, remember?" Toph reminded him.
"I thought we'd all realized by now that we shouldn't be held accountable for what we do in stories like this?"
"Sorry, couldn't resist."
"W-woah, Sokka…" said Aang "What on earth are you two onto?"
"It's nothing too difficult to pull off, honestly!" said Sokka, with a clumsy smile on his face
"You have a weird stage held up in the middle of a lake or something!" exclaimed Zuko "What is this, Sokka? What are you and Azula up to?"
"Uhmm… can I get briefed on this?" asked Toph, a little irritated "I don't suppose you believe I can see Sokka's pretty drawing with my feet, or do you?"
Toph shrugged. "Not like that's anything new. It's apparently a common mistake, thinking a blind earthbender can see anything drawn or written on paper."
"It's really not my drawing" admitted Sokka "I did give out several ideas, but…"
"It isn't yours, that's for sure" said Aang, with a teasing smile
"Hey! I'm a good artist!" claimed the boy, while leering at the Avatar
"I'm going to have to insert a dry cough here," Katara remarked.
"Just shut up, Katara," Sokka told her.
"Fine, great artist."
"Well, you're not this good" said Katara "She did this one, right?"
"Yeah, she did…" finally admitted Sokka, shrugging
"And you want to know if there's a territory in the Fire Nation where you can hold a stage such as this one?" asked Zuko "Honestly, I don't know…"
"Why not do it in Republic City?" asked Aang "I'm sure this can be held somewhere within the United Republic of Nations"
"Republic City?" Sokka asked. "What's that?"
Zuko looked thoughtful. "I'm not sure... but it sounds like something we've been discussing lately in meetings. You remember how some of the generals suggested building a community where the four nations could live alongside each other, right Aang?"
"Yeah, I remember," Aang answered. "But how did the author know about that? The idea was only supposed to be discussed in meetings."
"Well, considering these people know quite a lot about us even when they come from another universe, I'd say they could've picked that up somehow," Toph reasoned.
"Pity they don't seem to know enough to keep us in character for most of the stories," Katara said a little bitterly.
"Yeah. Pity."
Zuko sighed and stared at the blueprint once again, both confused and insecure. A place with such characteristics wasn't something that could be found just anywhere, was it?
"This reminds me a little bit of Omashu" said Aang suddenly "It rises from a chasm, just like the city does. Of course, this would have to be on a smaller scale… right?"
"I hope it is" said Katara "Azula could take your word too seriously and decide to smash down the entire city only to use it for her crazy test"
Aang gulped. "That... wouldn't be good."
"Yeah, especially if Bumi gets wind of it," Toph added. "He's a sucker for anything remotely crazy. Come to think of it, he and Azula should get along fine," she grinned.
"I don't think Bumi would want to murder any of us though," Sokka commented.
"And therein lies the important difference," Katara summed up.
"Hey!" said Sokka "It's OUR crazy test! I'm throwing lots of ideas in it too!"
Katara rolled her eyes, sick of her brother's attitude
"Whatever, Sokka" she grunted, annoyed at him
"So you're now claiming ownership for a crazy test?" Toph asked Sokka.
"Hey, like I said before, I'm not going to be held accountable for what I do here. Although if I did contribute to things, I should get some of the credit, right?"
"Like how you gave credit to the Mechanist for creating the submarines, even though all you did was draw a picture of a fish with humans in it," Katara smirked.
Sokka humphed. "I'm going to pretend I didn't hear that."
"Suit yourself."
"So… anywhere else you have in mind?" asked Sokka "Omashu is a good example, but it's too huge… we need somewhere similar, but much smaller. Can either of you arrange something like that, Aang, Zuko?"
Zuko and Aang exchanged a look, both aware of the fact that it wouldn't be easy to set up something along the lines of what Sokka and Azula were expecting, but Aang smiled at Sokka and nodded positively
"We'll figure something out. But please tell me you guys will get down to explaining us whatever you're planning to do sometime soon…"
Sokka smiled as well and stood up once more
"We'll get to it soon, I promise!" said Sokka "We'll let you know before we've set it all up, okay? Well, I'm off to the Palace again! Thanks for your help!"
With that, the Water Tribe boy ran back into the capital of the Fire Nation, leaving his friends behind. All of them were in deep thought: Katara was wondering what exactly should she expect from the trial Azula wanted to impose on them, Zuko and Aang were both thinking about how to solve the issue Sokka had posed on them, and Toph…
"Um… guys? Can anyone tell me now what was there on Sokka's scroll?" she grunted, without hiding the annoyance from her voice
"Whoopsie," Sokka remarked, hiding a grin.
Toph huffed. "Yup, forget the sightless kid. Ha ha."
"Don't take it personally, Toph," Katara said immediately.
"Never mind. Gotta cut some slack for idiots like him after all," Toph smirked, earning another glare from said idiot.
The other three couldn't help but laugh and described the drawing to Toph, who didn't seem comfortable at all after hearing their explanation
"Meaning… it won't be a very steady ground, right? Doesn't sound good" she muttered "But it sounds a little bit like the Earth Rumble I used to play in back in the old days…"
An idea suddenly lit Aang's eyes, and he smiled broadly
"W-wait… THAT'S IT! That's the perfect place! All we have to do is add water to the bottom of the stage and with that, all of Sokka's and Azula's plans can come true!"
"Actually, the Earth Rumble did look a lot like that drawing…" admitted Katara "Do you think they'll be fine with it?"
"Of course they will!" said Aang. He approached a tree and took his glider from it, since he'd left it there before starting practice "I'll go tell Sokka! After that, I'll find Appa and we'll go right to Earth Rumble to request the stage!"
"A-Aang…" said Katara, but the boy sped up towards the sky and missed out on her words "Be careful…" she muttered, but still smiled a little while she watched him fly away
"Always the ooglieness," Sokka grumbled.
Toph sent him a smirk. "Yup. Get used to it, Snoozles."
"So… what do we do now?" asked Toph
Zuko and Katara exchanged a little smile and helped Toph stand up from the place she'd been sitting on all along
"Let's have a bending battle" said Katara, smiling
"Each to his own?" asked Zuko, cracking his knuckles
"Oh, yeah" said Toph, grinning broadly. It was finally time to fight.
"Now that sounds fun," the real Toph remarked. "Pity we don't do that anymore."
"Well, now we have crazy stories about us to occupy our time." Sokka flipped through the pages again. "Who's up for more?"
I cut off the first half of Seyary-Minamoto's third chapter to make sure you all don't get bored to death by a lengthy chapter. Whoever wants to check out that first half can do so by searching for the story itself. See you guys soon!